A Redbourn fly-tipper has been sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, at St Albans Crown Court this week (April 5).

Joseph Stanley, 39, of Ashcroft Road, Luton, dumped so much rubble and fencing on Aubrey Lane that it was completely blocked on June 11, 2014.

Herts Police caught Stanley by tracing paperwork in the waste to his company, St Albans Herts Property Maintenance, and a garden job he completed in Stanmore.

For the crime, he also has to pay £3,500 and carry out 200 hours of unpaid community work.

In a separate incident, trees, garden, and general waste blocked a road in Flamsteadbury Lane on June 26, 2014, and for this he received three months, suspended for two years, to run concurrently.

Stanley made the same paperwork mistake on this occasion as well.

When the police came to arrest Stanley, he denied fly-tipping, claiming it had been collected by a Watford skip company - but the supposed proof documentation of this was altered.

He had lied to the skip company to obtain collection tickets, which he then changed.

In court on February 28, Stanley was unanimously convicted of two counts of fly-tipping and also of perverting the course of justice.

St Albans rural and wildlife officer, PC Jane Flemons, described fly-tipping as both a blight on the landscape and expensive to land owners: “Stanley showed no consideration for residents by recklessly dumping the waste blocking two roads in Redbourn.

“He then tried to deceive police by falsifying documents and therefore faced a third charge of perverting the course of justice.”

She added they were pleased and hope the sentence will remind potential fly-tippers they will be traced, while reassuring the local community.

Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, David Lloyd, said sentences like this help enforce their message: “My Community Safety and Criminal Justice Plan looks at how we can use the money raised from the proceeds of crime to help landowners with clean-up costs, but preventing the crime in the first place is our goal.”

Roadside fly-tipping can be reported to the St Albans district council on 01727 819285 or on wastemanagementservices@stalbans.gov.uk

Recently we, as a family (minus two of the kids), visited The Lodge RSPB reserve in Sandy, Bedfordshire. I had never been before, which is perhaps amiss of me as a birdwatcher as it is the headquarters of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds or RSPB and only 45 minutes drive from home.